Regeneration, 9min., USA
Directed by Kyle Jonah Ruddick
Regeneration is a short dance film that pays homage to the capacity of the human psyche and spirit to metabolize destruction into full bloom. Shot in the ashes of the Santa Monica Mountains in the weeks following the fire, the film captures a dancer amongst the desolate beauty of LA’s scorched terrain as she and it metabolize destruction back into full bloom — ecologically and emotively in parallel. Throughout, the patient eyes of more than 20 trail cameras document the slow return to life: grasses emerging from char, wildflowers erupting to superb loom, and wildlife feeding off a landscape more vibrant than before. Ultimately, it serves to leave its viewers with a message of hope: when held with reverence, and given time, the destructive events that sweep through our lives might just be serving to bring us back to life.